Stay up to date!

Sign up to our mailing list to receive the latest news in your email.

Stay up to date!

Sign up to our mailing list to receive the latest news in your email.

College News

UCDSU Welfare Officer Eoghan Mac Domhnaill On Making The Most Of The Last Week of College

December 13, 2017

Whoever said this is the most wonderful time of year has clearly not had to cram an entire semester worth of lectures into one week…

As the semester draws to a close and the impending realisation that not only is Santa coming but exams are too, it can be a really stressful time for students. With library spaces filling and talk of exams taking over nearly every group chat you’d nearly think students attended more Copper’s Tuesdays during the semester than lectures, but sure isn’t it all worth it?

These last few weeks don’t need to be all that though, we’re here to give you some top tips to make sure you can enjoy the last few weeks of the semester and how to prepare for the coming year!

Make the most of the few weeks you have left!

Although it may seem like doom and gloom remember you’re still in college, this is the time to have the craic and have fun because let’s face it, if you’re from Leitrim Christmas is hardly going to be buzzing. Try new things that you generally wouldn’t do like ice skating, 12 pubs of Christmas, try out Christmas caroling – sure what could go wrong. Enjoy this time of year as it can be so much fun, embrace the festive spirit and get out and about!

Think tactically

With exams around the corner, it’s all about logistics at this point. Being prepared for the marathon study session and having the groundwork done will really stand to you. Look for the secret study spots in your college, the place no one knows about that has a socket and is quieter than your granny during the Angelus.

Be prepared

Get the flask ready, you want a steady access to tea and coffee so a good flask is essential for making sure you have a large enough quantity that stays warm for along enough time. Make sure you have snacks for days, you don’t want to be consistently getting up from your study to go check out the local deli so having a nice healthy snack available will really help you through the dark times.

Do the maths!

If you feel like you don’t know which module you’ll need to really focus on in study week, and you’re lucky enough to have a certain proportion of your grade allocated for work during the year, then just do the maths. If you’ve got 40% of your grade in the bag for Molecular Chemistry but have 0% going into your multivariable calculus exam then prioritise you calculus study!

Take your time

Most importantly is the ever-reliable timetable. So after you’ve worked out what exams are a priority and you have your tea and snacks on hand you’ll finally want to plan out when you’re going to actually get down to study.

Some people love getting up at 5 am and studying until 11 pm, only breaking periodically for the bare necessities of life, Personally, I hated that and let’s face it we know and they know that’s just not healthy. Go for the 9am starts have a good decent breakfast, treat yourself to something fancy like real Coco Pops instead of the own brand you’ve been eating for the last 12 weeks, study for around an hour and a half to two hours at a time, take breaks to get your coffee or tea refills at this point – study breaks are key. Keep it going until maybe five or six and at that point crack open the Netflix. Study for any longer and it’ll be anti-productive and you’ll be shattered afterwards.

When you have all that ready make sure you stick to the plan, keep the breaks, keep to the timetable. One deviation from the plan will result in getting bored and Netflix being opened prematurely – we don’t want anything happening prematurely now, do we?

Enjoy!

Finally it’s time to start preparing for the next best semester of your life, societies will start recruiting again and it’s another brand new oppurtunity to get involved in college, make more friends and explore your horizons. If Semester One didn’t reallly go your way just know that you’ll have every oppurtunity to turn it around in Semester Two, your Students Union will be there to help you out if you need a hand all throughout the process.

Keep it safe this Christmas and remember to take it handy at the books!